Ron Mahay

Ronald Matthew Mahay (; born June 28, 1971) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins. After retiring from active play in January 2013, he was named a scout by the Los Angeles Dodgers for the season. He is currently the pitching coach for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the MLB Draft League.

Professional career

Boston Red Sox Mahay was drafted as an outfielder in the 18th round (486th overall) of the 1991 Major League Baseball draft by the Boston Red Sox out of South Suburban College, a junior college in South Holland, Illinois, where he both pitched and played center field. When the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike lasted into spring training the following year, Mahay was one of the replacement players called up by the Red Sox. As a consequence, Mahay (and all other replacement players who later made the big leagues) is not eligible for membership in the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Mahay made his Major League debut with the Red Sox on May 21, 1995, as an outfielder, and appeared in five games, batting .200 with four hits in 20 at-bats, including two doubles and a home run. He was returned to the minors after a month. In , Mahay moved from the outfield to the pitching mound where he spent the off-season with the Gold Coast Cougars in the Australian Baseball League perfecting his adaptation to pitcher.

On July 15, , Mahay was called up by Boston. Mahay finished the season with a 3–0 record and a 2.52 ERA in 28 appearances. He spent most of the 1999 season with the Triple-A Vancouver Canadians, going 7–2 with a 4.29 ERA in 32 games (15 starts). On September 2, Mahay was recalled as part of Oakland's September call-ups. He appeared in six games (one start) for the A's in 1999, going 2–0 with one save and a 1.86 ERA.

Florida Marlins On May 11, 2000, Mahay's contract was purchased by the Florida Marlins. and remained with the big league club almost exclusively until his tenure with the Rangers ended. Mahay went 3–3 with a 3.18 ERA in 35 relief appearances in 2003. In his Braves debut on August 1, Mahay tossed a scoreless eighth inning in a 12–3 rout of the Houston Astros. He earned his first win as a Brave on August 11, 2007, against the Philadelphia Phillies. He finished the season 3–0 with one save and a combined 2.55 ERA in 58 games with Texas and Atlanta. On December 7, he declined the Braves' arbitration offer.

Kansas City Royals On December 20, 2007, Mahay reached an agreement on a two-year, $8 million contract with the Kansas City Royals. For the season, he was 5–0 with a 3.48 ERA in 57 relief appearances. He was released by the Royals on August 24. He went 1–0 with a 2.00 ERA in 16 relief appearances with Minnesota. At the end of the 2009 season, Mahay became a free agent.

On March 24, , Mahay signed a minor league contract to rejoin the Twins. He returned to the majors on April 13, 2010. In 41 relief appearances, Mahay went 1–1 with an ERA of 3.44. He was unable to win a spot on the Dodgers major league roster and was released on March 26.

Arizona Diamondbacks Mahay signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 8, 2011, but was released on May 13.

St. Louis Cardinals He signed a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals on July 5, 2011, and was assigned to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. He elected to become a free agent on August 12. He made 12 appearances for Memphis, recording a 1.64 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP.

Cincinnati Reds On January 13, 2012, Mahay signed a minor league contract with the Reds, but was released on May 11 after posting a 4.50 ERA in only 18 innings of work.

On January 27, 2013, Mahay officially announced his retirement from baseball. At the time of his retirement, Mahay was the last active replacement player from the 1995 spring training.

Personal Mahay and his wife, the former Alison Palmieri, were married on November 7, 1998. They have two daughters, Madison Parker and Mackenzie Reece, and a son, Mason Patrick. Mahay now lives in Burbank, California, where he has been an assistant varsity baseball coach at John Burroughs High School.